Technology

Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker best known for passing on information that led to the arrest of Chelsea Manning, has died aged 37. In online messaging conversations, Manning confided in him, describing confidential military material Manning had sent to Wikileaks. Wikileaks published the video of a US helicopter strike that killed seven people, including a journalist working for the Reuters ...

A recent report on the Ghanaian Mobile Sector by Africa’s leading e-commerce company Jumia, has revealed that Ghana is one of Africa’s largest mobile markets, with about 34.57 million subscribers and a penetration rate of 119%. The report further revealed that there are 10.11 million active internet users in Ghana meaning nearly ⅓ of the country’s population have access to ...

Subscribers of DStv can now watch their favourite DStv channels on their phones on the DStv Now App. This, according to Cecil Sunkwa Mills, General Manager of MultiChoice Ghana, is to make their services more accessible to their customers. “Our mission is to deliver value to our customers by making great entertainment more accessible and affordable,” he stated. DStv Now ...

The chief executive of a company that created highly-secure smartphones allegedly used by some of the world’s most notorious criminals has been indicted. Canadian-based Phantom Secure made “tens of millions of dollars” selling the modified Blackberry devices for use by the likes of the Sinaloa Cartel, investigators said. The charges marked the first time US authorities have targeted a company ...

Messaging and e-payment app WeChat has become the latest Chinese technology to be banned by an overseas military on security grounds, with Australia instructing its armed forces not to use it. The country’s defence department said the service did not meet its standards, although it did not directly link the ban to security concerns. “Software and applications that do not ...

Facebook has removed the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders. The social media company said the group had repeatedly violated its community standards. Earlier this month, Britain First’s leader and deputy leader, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, were jailed after being found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. More than two million people had liked the group’s ...

South by Southwest Interactive is a festival that used to have a reputation as the place to create a buzz for a new social network or product. Yet these days, SXSW’s focus is less about developing apps, and more about developing society. A society that, thanks to technology which some of these attendees created, feels in need of repair. One ...

UN investigators have accused Facebook of playing a “determining role” in stirring up hatred against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. One of the team probing possible acts of genocide said Facebook had “turned into a beast.” About 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar’s military launched an operation in August against “insurgents” in Rakhine state. Facebook has said there is ...

US President Donald Trump has blocked a planned takeover of chipmaker Qualcomm by Singapore-based rival Broadcom on grounds of national security. His order cited “credible evidence” that the proposed $140bn (£100bn) deal “threatens to impair the national security of the US”. There were concerns the takeover could have led to China pulling ahead in the development of 5G wireless technology. ...

Stricter regulation, including large fines, is one option to force technology companies to take the issue of hate speech more seriously, the Mayor of London has said. “We can’t assume that tech companies will find the solutions by themselves,” Sadiq Khan told the BBC. He said companies have to be “chivvied and cajoled to take action”. On Monday, he will ...